You are, however, free to gripe about it - as long as you don't gather in large groups.

Well, you're free to gripe about it as long as you have the OPENNET package by time warner! It guarantees access to at least 5 websites where you'll be able to post and share with friends!Upgrade to the OpenNET2 Package for unlimited access to your refresh and back buttons...

You are, however, free to gripe about it - as long as you don't gather in large groups.

Well, you're free to gripe about it as long as you have the OPENNET package by time warner! It guarantees access to at least 5 websites where you'll be able to post and share with friends!Upgrade to the OpenNET2 Package for unlimited access to your refresh and back buttons...

It'll be fun watching them push until somethings snaps. Then we can use the OPENNET package to download plans for a gillotine.

fluffy2097:So mozilla is petitioning the former ceos of verizon and comcast, to not work in the interests of verizon and comcast.

lol. Good luck with that.

Actually, they're probably hoping the FCC rejects it out of hand, so they can start a civil action over it and get it reclassified by court order instead of FCC policy. That would be a lot more binding and not as subject to the usual bribery.

It'll still be an uphill battle because, let's face it, Obama is blatantly lying through his teeth about his administration's position on the matter, anyone who doesn't know that by now is a farking moron and will do everything he can to undercut any court ruling in favor of equal access or transparency. But still probably the best shot here, they just have to cross all the ts and dot all the is before taking it in that direction.

fluffy2097:So mozilla is petitioning the former ceos of verizon and comcast, to not work in the interests of verizon and comcast.

lol. Good luck with that.

The problem with assigning regulators is you necessarily have to hire someone with relevant industry experience so they have some knowledge of what they're regulating. However, hiring former executives who exited under amicable terms is the wrong way to go about it.

You need to get middle managers who were laid off for no reason, or better yet, fired for stupid personal reasons or for blowing the whistle on malfeasance they had no other power to do anything about and thus have an axe to grind. That's where you'll find effective regulators.

jamspoon:Glad someone is at least trying to maintain net neutrality. You never know big business might lose for once. .... Oh, well.

They have. Two, three, four, however many times now.

The bills have come up. People have voted them down. The companies, learning this, simply took the measures to back rooms, and will continue pumping bribe money into the slush funds of whomever it takes, until this is done.

They stand to win the world. Everyone uses the internet. It's electricity of the new millennium. If they can gain a stranglehold on the bare bones of the system, they can literally write their own solid gold checks and never give two shiats about anything again.

So no, big business is not going to lose this one. They're going to throw however much cash, however many man hours, whatever resources it takes, to win. And they will continue grinding it out, year, after year, after year, after year, until they win. Because they know that public interest will wane. People are fickle, they don't want to fight a long hard fight. They want 'Rosa Parks on the Bus', single, big, moments that maybe require a lot of effort but don't require decades of effort.

I don't think he needs any. It should be patently obvious to anyone that Comcast and Verizon want to end net neutrality. And it should be patently obvious that the largest shareholders of Verizon and Comcast are 1%'ers. I guess the question is, do the other 1%'ers want to end net neutrality? My considered opinion is the ones who will make more money without net neutrality are against net neutrality. And the ones who aren't sure just aren't very interested because they have so much farking money.

LordJiro:Hopefully, more content providers follow suit. I'd imagine Google and Netflix and such places aren't particularly happy about a potential 'Comcast Tax' cutting into their profits.

Google might be the key.. Piss them off, and they start throwing their billions around.

/Unless of course the service providers make sure google is free.//Just everything you search for requires a small fee to access any website not on the approved list.///And cut the goog in on the micro-transaction.

LordJiro:Hopefully, more content providers follow suit. I'd imagine Google and Netflix and such places aren't particularly happy about a potential 'Comcast Tax' cutting into their profits.

they're all big enough, this is about cementing their structure now that they're all big enough, and preventing the next innovative disruptor from blowing a hole in THEIR business model. All about preservation, not innovation.

zimbach:fluffy2097: So mozilla is petitioning the former ceos of verizon and comcast, to not work in the interests of verizon and comcast.

lol. Good luck with that.

The problem with assigning regulators is you necessarily have to hire someone with relevant industry experience so they have some knowledge of what they're regulating. However, hiring former executives who exited under amicable terms is the wrong way to go about it.

You need to get middle managers who were laid off for no reason, or better yet, fired for stupid personal reasons or for blowing the whistle on malfeasance they had no other power to do anything about and thus have an axe to grind. That's where you'll find effective regulators.

Why would anyone hire or appoint *them*?

THEY can't supply you with the multi - million dollar bribes that are required for you to push a candidate!

fluffy2097:I'd like to see level 3, cogent, and the other high level providers just shut down for 24 hours in protest.

Watching the ENTIRE WORLD fall into chaos as they can't update facebook or manipulate the stock market would be farking hilarious.

From what I was reading on Ars earlier, I wouldn't be that surprised if Level 3 did that. They sound kinda pissed.

Re: large groups, tonight I watched a perhaps medium sized protest wander down 16th street in Denver, purportedly protesting 'class war', but meanwhile chanting 'fark the police' (said police were out in force, basically waiting with baited breath to break out the force).

Maybe don't aggravate the guys who have the power to make or break your movement? Maybe try and sway them to your side?

Fortunately as far as I could tell, no one got their ass beat... or so I hope.

Jim_Callahan:Actually, they're probably hoping the FCC rejects it out of hand, so they can start a civil action over it and get it reclassified by court order instead of FCC policy. That would be a lot more binding and not as subject to the usual bribery.

This is a possibility. I'm sure we'll see lots of suits seeking to force net neutrality in the future, of varying effectiveness.

fluffy2097:So mozilla is petitioning the former ceos of verizon and comcast, to not work in the interests of verizon and comcast.

lol. Good luck with that.

Sadly, this.

grimlock1972:Seriously the FCC should not be allowed to employ former employees of any company under their jurisdiction in any post where they could influence rule making due to potential conflict of interests.

I agree, but here's the problem. Who understands the ISP business better than people who have worked for the big ISPs?

Do you think they'd hire you or me? Of course not. Who then should they hire? Some lawyer who has no concept of the technologies involved?

Conflict of interest though is a huge problem. Prohibiting FCC officials from going back to work for ISPs might be a good start, but I don't think it solves it completely.

Do they even make these officials divest of any interests they have in companies they are regulating?